No prison in New London assault case

A 24-year-old New London woman who was convicted of assault and weapons charges for her role in a September 2011 fight that left three women with slash wounds received a suspended prison sentence and three years of probation today in Superior Court.

Quintia Worthy of Ledge Road had been arrested along with 27-year-old Shekina L. Jones, who took responsibility for slashing the three women with a pen knife and faces up to two years in prison.

Worthy, a working mother of three small children, tearfully apologized for her role in the fight, which she said was "unacceptable." About 25 family members and friends who attended the sentencing hearing burst into applause when Judge Arthur C. Hadden said he would not be sending Worthy to prison. He sentenced her to five years in prison, fully suspended, followed by three years of probation.

"You certainly need to recognize how close you've come not only to incarceration, but incarceration for a long period of time," Hadden said.

She faced up to 13 years in prison for three counts of third-degree assault and two counts of possession of illegal weapons. Police searched her car after the fight and found a pair of brass knuckles and a kitchen knife with an 8-inch blade.

At Worthy's trial in August, the three victims, who all required stitches, testified about an altercation near the intersection of Broad Street and Connecticut Avenue on Sept. 4, 2011. They said Worthy and Jones followed them from the Ravi gas station and pulled up alongside their car. They said Worthy approached the driver's side window and began hitting the driver through the window. All of the women exited both cars and began fighting. The three victims testified that the fight ended quickly, that they had been drinking that night and that they did not know who slashed them.

One of them told police that she had heard Jones say, "I'm going to get you for messing with my baby's daddy."

Assistant State's Attorney Christa L. Baker had prosecuted the case. Defense attorney Paul Whelan had represented Worthy. None of the victims opted to speak to a probation officers who conducted a presentencing investigation or deliver an impact statement at the sentencing.